Jude Njoku
9 November 2009
Akure — The Works and Housing Minister, Dr. Hassan Lawal, weekend, promised that the Federal Government will accord the reconstruction of the Lagos-Benin Expressway top priority.
The minister said this while inspection rehabilitation work on the road at Ore, Ondo State.
Lawal, who was accompanied by the Governor Olusegun Mimiko, was overwhelmed by the traffic jam and the complaints of commuters who said they had stayed in the gridlock for over six hours.
The minister, who said the road has expired and required total reconstruction, however, blamed the impatience of motorists as partly responsible for the gridlock.
Lawal, who was concluding a three-day inspection of federal roads under construction in the South-West, also sought the understanding of Nigerians.
He said road construction is different from ordinary procurement.
Gov. Mimiko and other security personnel on the entourage joined the minister to control the traffic amidst praises and jeers from the commuters
According to Mimiko, the government will liaise with the police and other law enforcement agencies to join the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) to control the traffic in the area pending the completion of the rehabilitation.
Earlier, the governor said: "We have all been witnesses to the harrowing experiences that our people go through on this road on a daily basis.
"There is no question about the fact that part of the problem is the impatience on the part of the drivers. We cannot run away from the fact that this road is congested hence the road has broken down completely.
"The solution is simple, from Lagos to Benin, this road has to be reconstructed. The palliative that is going on is okay for this season but ultimately the Federal Government must commit itself to rebuilding this road."
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